Roll Call/August 2010
|} The August issue was released on August 10th, 2010. PDF Version *Click here to download the issue in PDF format Online Version Director's Dialog As the current Director of the O.G.R.E.s, I'd like to say hello to all the new and prospective members out there. This is a great time to join, as we are constantly discovering new ways of contributing to the geekdom, beginning fun and exciting games, and creating opportunities for gamers who were formerly isolated and unorganized. Our numbers are greater than ever, our involvement with Hex Games is a happy one, and we are now looking for motivated members to help with the growing needs of our Organization. If you are interested in helping us out, and maybe getting a fancy title out of the deal, go check out the Membership Handbook for information on gaining rank and becoming an officer. As always, if you have questions and can't seem to find the answers, check out the O.G.R.E.s forum at OgreLair.org and get your info from the source. August looks to be an interesting month for the Ogres: Along with the regular game nights, it seems that a few members of the Sic City Ogres will be heading to GenCon in Indianapolis, IN for a weekend of gaming. We wish them a safe trip, and bring us back a t-shirt or something? In other news, many potlucks have been going down during the Quilt City Ogres weekly game night, and there has been talk of organizing a Meet-And-Greet style public potluck for new and prospective members to get a chance to try us out. If your gaming group holds events like this, consider adding them to our calendar of events as well as advertising locally. You might attract gamers of a different system or of the internet variety: trust me, food is a great incentive among gamers. Remember that a chapter need not be a singular gaming group. Members do not have to be involved in a weekly game, but involved in something is preferable. Chapter Coordinators need only be good communicators, and the Senior Dungeon Master need not be the only one running games; rather a resource for players looking for games. If you still need help with these topics, desire to discuss a certain aspect, or would like to be more involved, just ask. - Director SDM's Monologue Greetings Ogres! I hope this third glorious issue of the newsletter treats you well. Although we've got a lot of hard work ahead of us, I think it's completely possible and inevitable that with time our organization, and its newsletter, will be larger, more refined, and more efficient. I think you already know how... Participate! Get involved. Every little bit helps the OGREs as a whole. Contribute to the wiki. Recruit a new gamer in your town. Heck, recruit many new gamers! Sign up for a course at the new Ogswald Academy. Tell an internet friend about us. Talk to your fellow Ogres(both in your everyday life and on our internet forum). Give us feedback and suggestions. Expand your gaming network. After all, bringing people together to ensure a good time is had by all is a major motivation behind our existence. Our third quarter board meeting is coming up at the end of August. We've got a lot on the table for this one. If things go well, the OGREs should have a productive quarter ahead of us. We'd love for everybody to suggest any organization-wide ideas or concerns to be brought to the table. I am considering trying to get a motion passed that would require all board or director meetings to be sans pants. We'll see how that goes. I'd like to take this moment to thank long time Ogre Youtube fan, Tony, for coming up to hang out with the Quilt City Ogres for a day. His dedication is inspiring. Although I was not there in person, I was there through the power of the INTERNET. The Skype-ing session i enjoyed with my home chapter, although plagued by a sketchy connection, was well worth it. My dwarf is now halfway to level two! I dub it a twofold milestone day! Thanks again to everybody involved. Enjoy the rest of the issue, folks. And remember, while the rowers keep on rowing, the Ogres keep on growing. We're expanding across the nation and it's great. If you get a chance, thank a fellow Ogre, whether they be from your town or one 2000 miles away, for being a part of all this. You're all part of turning a dream into reality. Keep it up. Good luck, and good gaming. - Supreme Dungeon Master Dir. of Comms. Update Another month has came and went and here we are again! I’ve been working hard trying to create a new easy-to-understand protocol to help new chapters in their formation process. We’re looking forward to implementing it, and seeing an increase in new chapters as a result. In other news, we will be electing a new Editor-in-Chief shortly as our previous one stepped down. If you think you may be interested, contact me on OgreLair.org! We’ll be discussing it and possibly filling the vacancy at our Board of Directors meeting towards the end of this month. Keep a lookout on information on OgreCon in the next Roll Call, and make sure to get any annual award nominations into us before the end of the month, which is the cut off deadline for this year’s submissions. All available info and places to submit nominations can be found on OgreLair.org - Director of Communications Editor's Corner So, another month has gone by now. I’m starting to see a trend here, however. Either no one is reading these things, or no one is interested in anything I have to say. Probably the latter. I have put the invite out for help with the Editing of articles and also for submission of stories, ideas, etc... to be applied to the website as they are approved. However, I have received neither. So! This is what I have for you, a last effort for some interaction with the people: What do you want? Plain. Simple. What do you want out of your Editor's monthly newsletter or your Editor's blog... or simply just from your Editor? - Editor-in-Chief Webmaster's World The Webmaster was not available for comment for the month of August. Ask a Dungeon Master *To see this article, please visit the SDM's blog here on OgreLair.org Advocacy and You *To see this article, please visit Tuesday Truths: Reviewing The Gladiator... not that one. Chapter Spotlight This month we spotlight the Quilt City Ogres of Paducah, Kentucky. The gaming group that would eventually become the Quilt City Ogres formed in 2006 in Paducah, Kentucky. The acronym Ogre began to be used by the players after coming across the moniker that was then being used by the Sin City Ogres via the internet. Players began recording their sessions and uploading them to the video sharing website Youtube for their own amusement. When creating this account, the chapter adopted the name "Quilt City Ogres" after first asking permission from the original Vegas group of gamers. With permission granted and the logo provided, the gang began to use the term to identify themselves as their youtube videos began to spread throughout the regional gamers, and as of April 2010 receiving more than 20,000 collective views. The later parts of 2007 would see the creation of a website and forums for the chapter, and by this point the term had become synonymous with the group. Some members moved off to college and nearby cities, forming the chapters that would become the Soil Ogres and the Derby City Ogres. With the formation of nearby chapters becoming more prevalent over the course of the next two years, the Quilt City Ogres decided to spearhead the incorporation of the Ogres and began to formulate plans to do so. After much preparation, OGRES: The Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts, Incorporated was formed in late 2009 within the Commonwealth of Kentucky. With this happening, the Quilt City Ogres became the "mother chapter" of the organization as a whole, with the most members out of any chapter represented on the Board of Directors. New chapters must contact this chapter in order to form, and for assistance with Ogre-related issues. At one point another, each of the original Founding Five members have been a member of this chapter. *Name: Quilt City Ogres *Location: Paducah, KY *Founded: December, 2006 *# of Active Members: 34 *Chapter Coordinator: Hooper *Senior Dungeon Master: Walter H. Pfeiffer-Thompson *Website: QuiltCityOgres.com Member Spotlight This month we highlight a member of the Founding Five of OGREs; an officer in the Quilt City Ogres; and the Supreme Dungeon Master: Walter “Neodymium” Pfiefer-Thompson. It is hard to describe someone such as Walter. All the usual go-to labels and adjectives fail to convey the true essence of his character to those few who are not privileged enough to know him personally. But that is what us OGREs are here for. And, we formed a team of top men (TOP MEN) to come up with a single sentence that could get thru to the core of Walter, and after much deliberation and one hung jury, they have finally delivered that sentence. "Walter is the peak of human achievement without augmentation or kryptonian powers, because he is the goddamn Batman." - Top Men Character's Corner Today we’ll be highlighting characters from a ongoing playtest of a forthcoming Hex Games release that is still untitled. The working title of “Super Zeroes” is pretty descriptive though, in that you take on the role of a arguably “super” “hero” whose powers are very minimal compared to standard heroes. The following characters are part of the fictional and horribly-named hero team the “Hall of Cosmonauts” and you can keep up with their fictional exploits on twitter.com/HallOCosmonauts. *Captain Condom: A never-around-when-you-need-him hero with a vast rogues gallery of nemesis *Space Monkey: A Russian test monkey who was abandoned in space only to be touched by *Cosmic Rays and transformed into a hyper-intelligent sentient being. *Jetsam: The freshwater hero and plumber whose offices double as a hideout (the BASEment) and whose work truck (the Jetruck) helps fight crime. *El Taquito Loco: A touch-telepath OB/GYN with a true passion for lucha-libre wrestling and the inability to talk to women. *Hobo Harley: A hobo who keeps finding things during battles to take to the recycling center for cash. Game of the Month The Settlers of Catan is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber. It was first published in 1995 in Germany by Franckh-Kosmos Verlag (Kosmos) under the name Die Siedler von Catan. The Settlers of Catan was one of the first German-style board games to achieve popularity outside Europe, and has been called the killer app of the genre. Over 15 million games in the Catan series have been sold, and the game has been translated into thirty languages from the original German. The game has rapidly become popular in part because its mechanics are relatively simple, while its dynamics are quite complex. The game is well suited for family play, since no one gets eliminated, and players who are behind can strive towards goals that are within their reach. The standard game and its many expansions are available from Mayfair Games in the United States and United Kingdom, from Capcom in Japan, Kosmos and 999 Games in much of Europe, Κάισσα in Greece (Οι άποικοι του Κατάν), Devir in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, and Strategy Games in Canada. Company Profile White Wolf, Inc. is an American gaming company and book publisher, most famous for the Vampire: The Masquerade roleplaying game. The company began in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant and White Wolf Magazine, and was led by Mark Rein·Hagen of Lion Rampant and Steve and Stewart Wieck from the magazine. Taking their name from the fiction of Michael Moorcock, they have become one of the world's most successful role-playing game companies. White Wolf publishes a line of several different but overlapping games set in the "World of Darkness", a "modern gothic" world that, while seemingly similar to the real world, is home to supernatural terrors, ancient conspiracies, and several approaching apocalypses. In the World of Darkness, vampires, werewolves, mummies, mages, changelings, wraiths, and other creatures of the night exist and fight with and alongside each other while remaining hidden from normal humans. The company also publishes the high fantasy Exalted RPG, the modern mythic Scion, and d20 system material under their Sword & Sorcery imprint, including such titles as the Dungeons & Dragons gothic horror campaign setting Ravenloft, and Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed series. To complement the World of Darkness game lines, there is a LARP system dubbed Mind's Eye Theatre. Many grassroots gaming groups have sprung up to play games based on this system. Recent Awards ;Honorary Membership :For recognition of support of O.G.R.E.s or great accomplishments in the gaming industry :Monte Cook :Sue Weinlein Cook :Peter Adkison :Ed Greenwood :Steve Jackson :R.A. Salvatore :Skip Williams :Cindy Jones (Sic City Ogres) :Delores Stuby (Sic City Ogres) ;DM Badge :Serving as a Dungeon Master for a chapter :Brandon Boatright :Shane Jones :Jordan Colson :David McDonald :Dan Thom :Mac Headrick ;Distinguished Service Award :For distinguished service :Jordan Colson (Sic City Ogres) ;Advocacy Badge :For promoting and advocating gaming :Brandon Boatright (Sic City Ogres) :Jordan Colson (Sic City Ogres) Recent Promotions ;Steve Johnson :Quilt City Ogres ::From Sergeant to Marshall ;Jordan Colson :Sic City Ogres ::From Sergeant to Master Sergeant ;User:Hragged :Stronghold Ogres ::From Private to Knight-Captain Upcoming Events AUGUST, 2010 ;August 5th-8th - Indianapolis, IN :Gen Con Indy 2010 ;August 28th - Las Vegas, NV :Vegas Game Day hosted by the Sin City Ogres at the Las Vegas-Clark County Library ;August 29th - Paducah, KY :Third Quarter 2010 Board of Directors meeting, at the Pfiefer-Thompson Residence, at 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm. Happy Birthdays August *Toney Little, Quilt City Ogres - August 21st, 1990 * Help the OGREs compile their membership birthday database by contacting the Director of Communications with yours! Happy Anniversaries *No known member anniversaries in the upcoming months. For future releases of Roll Call, the O.G.R.E.s would like to highlight our married members by announcing anniversaries. Please contact the Director of Communications via the email on the final page of this newsletter and provide your anniversary. It may be the easiest way for you to get another reminder not to forget - and we can help keep that dog house void of human life a little longer. Officer Contact Information ;Director :Jake Kubitschek :: ;Vice Director :Hooper : ;Editor-in-Chief :David Waddell :Email ;Acting Treasurer :Hooper : ;Director of Communications :Hooper : ;Supreme Dungeon Master :Walter Pfeifer-Thompson :Email ;Webmaster :Shawn Cain :Email ;New Chapter Recruitment Committee :Hooper : ;Gaming Advocacy :Lacey Wilson : ;Marketing & Promotion :David Waddell : ;Roll Call Editor :Hooper : ;Assistant Editor :David Waddell : ;Roll Call Staff :Walter Pfeifer-Thompson : ;Lacey Wilson : ;Shawn Cain : ;Steve Johnson : ;Jake Kubitschek : ---- Back To: OgreLair.org → Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts → Ogres Portal → Roll Call Category:Browse Category:Roll Call